Contrary to what you might expect, Vertigo is not an adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s film of the same name. Instead it's a tribute, and a narrative game that will immerse you in the Hitchcockian world. It’s all there: subterfuge, characters whom you can’t decide if they’ve lost their minds or are actually the real victim, plentiful twists, and the omnipresent suspense.
Fans of narrative games are in for a treat, here. This one is a fine tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, and it places you right at the heart of the suspense.
Are you a murderer? Are you dangerous? Have you lost your mind?
These are the questions you will very soon be asking yourself once you start playing as Ed Miller. Ed is a writer who escaped a car crash completely unscathed, but who is now afflicted by intense bouts of vertigo. Believing that he lost his wife and daughter in the accident, he reluctantly starts therapy, gradually confiding more in his unsettling psychologist, Dr. Julia Lomas.
She must find a way past her patient's unwillingness and into the recesses of his memory if she is to find out what really happened.
In parallel to this, you'll be following an investigation led by Nick Reyes, sheriff of Cerro Lake, who is determined to get to the bottom of Ed's accident, and who might just unearth new and more disturbing information...
As you've no doubt guessed, the game's plot has nothing to do with Alfred Hitchcock's cult film starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. Instead, it's a homage to the master of suspense. And it's a successful tribute that will carry you along on a thrilling adventure for the duration of the game's 12 hour playtime. It's a plot of the kind that's rarely seen, gripping and full of twists, and all accompanied by well-written characters and beautiful environments with a style of their own.
The atmosphere is tense, you'll never know what to expect and find yourself trusting no-one, and the twists just keep coming one after another. A great many questions arise, and the answers come in dribs and drabs, all the way through to the final revelation in the game's final scene.
And because Vertigo is first and foremost a narrative game, it's accessible to anyone, even gamers who aren't the quickest with a controller or mouse. You simply move your characters through 3D environments, finding objects that you can interact with, indicated by a little circle. You don't need to collect and combine items to make progress through the game. This is a real investigation, with dialogue choices to make, sometimes against the clock, and which may affect the attitude of the characters you are speaking to. The game is also filled with little actions you must take at the right time to avoid a fall or mishap.
This Vertigo is a real gem for any fans of a good thriller, but just like with Basic Instinct, make sure you avoid any spoilers if you're to get the most from the adventure.
